Career
Mediterranean first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1810. [2]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|
| 1810 | H.Martin | Captain & Co. | Yarmouth | LR |
| 1812 | H.Martin | Captain & Co. | London–Malta | LR |
| 1814 | H.Martin | Captain & Co. | London–Mogador | LR |
| 1819 | S.Coleman | T.Sturge | London–South Seas | LR |
|
1st whaling voyage (1819–1821): In 1820 Mediterranean became a whaler. Captain Coleman sailed from London, bound for Peru. Mediterranean returned to London on 26 March 1822 with 125 tuns of oil, plus fins. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|
| 1819 | S.Coleman
Ross | T.Sturge | London–South Seas | LR; repairs 1822 |
|
2nd whaling voyage (1822–1823): Captain Ross sailed from England on 10 May 1822. On 17 October Mediterranean was at the Cape of Good Hope; on the 24th she sailed for London. She arrived at Gravesend on 18 December 1823 with 30 tanks and 20 casks of whale oil, fins, and 40 cwt of whale bone. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|
| 1824 | Ross
Stewart | T.Sturge | London–South Seas | LR; repairs 1822 |
| 1825 | J.Stewart | Stewart | London–Ceylon | LR; small repairs 1824 |
|
In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.
Captain Stewart arrived on 29 July 1824 from Madeira and elsewhere. He sailed for Ceylon on 31 July 1824 under a licence from the EIC. [5] He arrived at Madeira on 17 August and sailed for Ceylon on the 24th. Mediterranean arrived at Ceylon on 22 December. On 13 February 1825 she was at Bengal, having come via Columbo.
Although LR continued to carry Mediterranean for some time with data unchanged from 1825, she disappeared from ship arrival and departure (SAD) data. However, in 1828 and 1829, the East-India register and directory did carry a vessel named Mediterranean, of 200 tons. Her master was J.Stephens and her owner Gilmore& Co. The same entries show her being built in "Bayhore", which is possibly Beypore. [6] [lower-alpha 1]
Mediterranean may have returned to England, though she does not reappear in LR. There is evidence for a third whaling voyage.
3rd whaling voyage (1835–1837): Captain R.Ross sailed in 1835 and returned to England on 19 December 1837 with 20 casks of oil, 30 tuns of oil, and fins. Her owner at the time was Thomas Sturge, Jr. [3] [lower-alpha 2]
King George was built on the Thames in 1783 as a West Indiaman. From 1817 she made four voyages to the British Southern Whale Fishery, and was condemned at Guayaquil in 1824 on her fifth.
Harleston was an American vessel launched in 1810 at Wiscasset, Maine, and taken in prize. Mestaer purchased her c.1813, and she became a West Indiaman until she was sold on Mestaer's death. She became a whaler and on her way home from her second whaling voyage was condemned in 1826 at Mauritius as unseaworthy and broken up.
Camden was built at Whitby in 1813. She served as a general trader for much of her career, though in 1820-21 she made one voyage to Bombay for the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1833 and 1837 she was a Greenland whaler out of the Whitby whale fishery, and was the last vessel from Whitby to engage in whaling. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1850.
Emma was a merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1809 that served as a government armed ship in the British invasion of Île de France in 1810. In 1811 she sailed to England where she was sold. She then became a transport and later a whaler. Between 1815 and 1853 she made 11 whaling voyages. She was then sold and became a merchantman on the England-Australia run. Between 1851 and 1853 she made one more whaling voyage to the South Seas fisheries. She then returned to the England-Australia trade. In 1857 her home port became Hull, and she became a Greenland whaler, though that role may have begun as early as 1855. She was converted in 1864 to a screw steamer but was lost in April while seal hunting.
Glenmore was launched in 1806 at Elgin. She was initially a West Indiaman. She made one voyage to Bengal in 1813–14. She became a Greenland whaler in 1818 and made four full whaling voyages. She was lost in the White Sea in 1822.
Venus was launched at Deptford in 1788 and made 15 voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. She was last listed in 1823.
Regalia was launched at Sunderland in 1811. In 1819 she made a voyage to Calcutta, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). she also sailed to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. From Sydney she engaged in several sealing hunting voyages to the waters around Macquarie Island. In 1826 she transported convicts from Dublin to New South Wales. From 1831 until 1852, when she was wrecked at Davis Strait, Regalia was a whaler in the northern whale fishery.
Partridge was built at Antwerp in 1813, under another name, and was taken in prize. From 1814 she was under British ownership. Between 1814 and 1822 she traded with India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler, making three voyages to the British Southern Whale Fishery before she was broken up in 1834.
Comet was launched in 1791 at Rotherhithe. At the outbreak of war with France, she briefly became a privateer before the British East India Company (EIC) chartered her for one voyage to bring back sugar, saltpeter, and other goods from Bengal. Between 1812 and 1821 she made three voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Then between 1823 and 1840 she became a whaler based in Hull, whaling in the northern whale fishery. She returned to trade in 1841 and was lost on 1 December 1843 homeward bound from Quebec.
L'Aigle was launched in France in 1801, 1802, or 1803. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1809. From 1810 to 1817, she was a West Indiaman. From 1817 L'Aigle made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale fishery. On her third whaling voyage, she carried King Kamehameha II of Hawaii and Queen Kamāmalu with a number of their retainers and Hawaiian notables to England. She was lost on 6 March 1830 on her fifth whaling voyage.
Hebe was launched at Hull in 1809. She initially sailed as a West Indiaman, but then sailed to the Mediterranean. In 1813 a privateer captured her but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. Between 1816 and 1819 she made two voyages to India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). On her return new owners sailed her as a whaler. She was wrecked on 10 March 1821 on her second whaling voyage to the British northern whale fishery.
Sir Charles Price was launched in America in 1812 under another name. The British captured her c.1814 and Daniel Bennett purchased her and added her to his fleet of whalers. She made six complete whaling voyages and was lost on her seventh whaling voyage.
Mellish was launched in 1819 at Kidderpore, Calcutta as Chicheley Plowden but renamed within the year and sold for a "free trader", i.e, a ship trading between England and India sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then made two voyages transporting convicts, the first to New South Wales, and one to Van Diemen's Land (VDL). She next made two voyages as a South Seas whaler between 1831 and 1838. She was wrecked on 5 October 1844.
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
Prince of Orange was launched in Sunderland in 1814. She originally sailed as a West Indiaman but then became an East Indiaman, sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, the first in 1820–1821 to New South Wales, and the second in 1822 to Van Diemen's Land. Between 1830 and 1840 she made nine voyages as a whaler to Davis Strait. She was lengthened and rebuilt in 1846. In December 1852 she grounded and it took some months to get her off. She then need major repairs. She also suffered damages in 1854. She foundered in 1858.
Harriet was launched at Calcutta, between 1793 and 1795. Between 1795 and 1801 she made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and was chartered for use as a transport for a naval campaign that was cancelled. She became a transport and then in 1817 made another voyage to India, this time under a license from the EIC. She then became a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery, making seven complete whaling voyages and being lost c.1841 on her eighth.
Harriet was launched in Massachusetts in 1809. The British captured her and on 13 January 1813 a prize court condemned her. New owners retained her name. She became a West Indiaman, and made one voyage to New South Wales. Between 1818 and 1832 she made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was lost in October 1833 in the Seychelles on her fifth whaling voyage.
Marquis/Marquess of Lansdown/Lansdowne was launched at Calcutta in 1824. She was initially a "country ship", trading east of the Cape of Good Hope. She then sailed to Port Jackson, but plans to establish a packet service between Australia and Calcutta, including taking tea from India to Australia under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC), did not work out. She then sailed to England and became a whaler, making four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1829 and 1845. She was last listed in 1847.
Copernicus may have been launched in 1808 or 1810 on the River Thames, under another name. She first appeared as Copernicus in 1821, as a whaler, bound for the southern whale fishery. Thereafter she sailed between England and the East Indies, including Batavia, Ceylon, and Singapore, as well as Indian ports.She was wrecked in 1835.
Traveller was launched at Peterhead in 1815. She made three voyages to India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC), and then from 1821 to 1858 she was a whaler and sealer in the British northern whale fishery. She was wrecked on 2 May 1858.
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